He emerged from the woods and fluttered tentatively in the open air. Raven circled overhead but did not swoop. Butterfly ventured out a little more and Raven made no move toward him. Delighted, Butterfly sped off to share his secret with his kin.

“Raven,” called another raven, “why do you circle here?”

“Do you see that butterfly down below?” Raven replied.

“Where? I love a good butterfly snack!”

“There,” Raven said. “Tell me, could you eat something so beautiful?”

“No,” the other agreed after a thoughtful moment. “I could not.”

“Neither could I,” sighed Raven.

Across the field butterflies adorned their wings with the beauty of the world while overhead two ravens winged away into the blue sky.

Written by W. C. McClure. This may be shared (and please do); just please be sure to share it in its entirety, unaltered (and including this fine print), with credit given to W. C. McClure. This is a work of fiction. None of the characters or events depicted are meant to represent anyone or anything this side of dreams. Comments are welcome! Please help support this indie author by telling your friends about this short story blog at http://www.farsideofdreams.com and buying W. C. McClure’s books at http://www.wcmcclure.com. Thanks for reading.